Quicker graphics, cutting edge processors, and a completely novel aluminium casing: those are the highlights of the completely reworked laptop line from Apple, as presented by CEO Steve Jobs at a recent press conference in Cupertino.
Apple also announced on the occasion that the new lower prices for its portable computers, including a MacBook starting at 950 dollars. Many fans were nevertheless disappointed that Apple chose not to enter into the inexpensive netbook market, a class that includes machines for less than 300 dollars.
The rebuilt computer starts with a new production method. "Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminium," Steve Jobs explained. The company is also responding to environmentalists by using recyclable materials and avoiding components that are damaging to the environment. The company's products have received poor grades on the green front in the past.
As part of the new production process, Apple cuts the body of the laptop from a more than 1 kilogram block of aluminium. The final casing created in that process weighs no more than 100 grams. The remainder of the laptop's components are mounted into the shell. This complicated process has to date only been applied to the high-end MacBook Air model to create its extremely flat casing. The MacBook Pro and MacBook models will now also be created in this way. Only the lower priced introductory model, the MacBook White, still comes in a white plastic casing.
Another change is related to graphics hardware. The integrated graphics chips from Intel have been replaced with chips from graphics specialist Nvidia. The MacBook now comes with the GeForce 9400M chip set with DDR3 RAM, estimated by experts to run twice as quickly as Intel's current Centrino 2 graphics chips.